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A DeKalb County police officer was shot five times Sunday morning before returning fire and killing his assailant at a Stone Mountain apartment complex, officials said.

The officer, 43-year-old Chester Lamb, was in â€œserious but stableâ€ condition following the incident.

DeKalb County Interim Police Chief James Conroy told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that, just after 2 a.m., officers responded to several 911 calls reporting a man shooting into a building at the Marquis Pointe apartments. The alleged shooter was gone by the time officers arrived at the complex on Stone Mill Cove, but they did find â€œseveral apartments damaged by gunfire.â€

Police returned to the complex around 3:20 a.m. after another 911 call, Conroy said, this one from a woman reporting that â€œthe shooter was back and banging on her door.â€

Authorities have not confirmed it was the same man from previous calls, but Conroy said a suspect â€œcame out shootingâ€ at officers responding to the apartment complex.

One officer â€” identified as Lamb, a seven-year veteran of the department â€” was hit multiple times, police said. Lamb was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in â€œserious but stableâ€ condition, Conroy said, but not before returning fire at the suspect.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Sherry Lang, whose agency has taken over the investigation, identified the suspect as Frederick Farmer, a man in his 20s. Farmer was â€œstruck more than one timeâ€ and pronounced dead at the scene, Lang said.

Per department policy, both officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave. The second officer at the scene was not injured and did not discharge his firearm, Conroy said.

â€œThe GBI will conduct a thorough investigation to determine what occurred,â€ Lang said. â€œWhen the investigation is complete it will be turned over to the (district attorney) for any action he deems appropriate.â€

The DeKalb County shooting is the third use-of-force incident being investigated by the GBI in metro Atlanta this weekend. The agency is also investigating a Gwinnett case where a man died following an â€œaltercationâ€ with police officers, as well as a Newton County case where two men were shot after a gun was allegedly pointed at deputies during a traffic stop.

Comment

The DeKalb County police officer shot multiple times during a shootout at a Stone Mountain apartment complex is awake and in pain, but in good spirits, according to a department spokesperson.

Police responded to the Marquis Pointe apartments early Sunday morning for reports of shots fired. They eventually encountered a man in his 20s later identified as Frederick Farmer. A woman who identified herself as Farmerâ€™s girlfriend gave us a photo of Farmer. Police say when officers approached Farmer, he fired at them. Officers returned fire, killing him.

â€œIt just feels like once I walk out of my door there it is there's another incident closer to home,â€ said Erica Chatman, who lives in the area.

"It's very sad the young community is just dying rapidly,â€ said neighbor Darrel Johnson.

Sunday, resident Tiffanie Ramie told Channel 2 Action News she was packing and planning to move out because of the incident.

â€œI donâ€™t know but Iâ€™m not staying, this is too close for me,â€ Ramie said.

"We need the police but we are afraid of the police. How do you call the people to protect you that may harm you at the same time,â€ said neighbor Ajani Sekou.

"It's sad my kids don't even come outside because they are scared. Really scared,â€ said neighbor Darrel Johnson. "My oldest son will not walk to the store unless I'm right there next to him or he won't walk at all."

An autopsy on Farmerâ€™s body was completed Monday and results are being forwarded to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is now handling the investigation.